SLEEP PATTERNS OF OUTDOOR ENTHUSIASTS

Sleep is so important for the mind, the body, and even our spirits. Many of us hold the 8-hour a night stipulation dear to our hearts, making sure to get to bed early, or sleep in later to ensure that each minute of sleep is accounted for. But what happens when you are out on assignment creating maps for National Geographic, or preparing for an Iditarod, or rowing solo around the world?Check out a few of the sleep patterns, and unique sleeping needs of these amazing outdoor enthusiasts: Becca Skinner, Ed Stafford, Chris Burkard, Jon Bowen, Sage Donnelly, Brody Leven, Matt Moniz, Laura Dekker, Roz Savage, and Anton Krupicka.

Becca Skinner

Becca is a freelance photographer with an adventurous lifestyle. Skinner won a National Geographic Young Explorer Grant to photograph post-tsunami Sumatra, Indonesia, which sparked a new drive for adventure photography.

Skinner is an 8 hour a night kind of gal, typically tucking in at about 10 or 11pm. She is a big proponent of the 20 minute afternoon nap.

Chris Burkard

Burkard is a successful photographer, creative director, speaker, author, and explorer himself. At the age of just 30, Burkard was photographing some of the most recognized creative work of our time. Having worked with Apple, The North Face, Patagonia, Microsoft, Land Rover, ESPN, and many more, Burkard has had opportunities to work on many global projects.

Burkard sets off to get some Zzzs in sometime between 10 and 11 each night. He prefers a hard surface to sleep on, and absolutely NO noise! Burkard does not tend to switch on the air conditioning but does enjoy having the window open while he snoozes.

Jon Bowen

Bowen is a cartographer for National Geographic; he designs and builds world class maps, and manages interactive mapping projects. When he is not doing all things maps, Bowen is biking, hiking, climbing, and camping.

Bowen is “that guy” that leaves get-togethers early to ensure he gets to bed by about 10pm. With no alarm needed, Bowen is up by 7:40 each day, living by the mantra “early to bed, early to shred.” When at home in his condo, or “city tent” as he refers to it, Bowen keeps the windows open, especially at night. Bowen loves pillows, but only the fluffy kind, no skinny dead ones, and he is looking forward to the day they make a sleeping bag with a special zipper at the bottom to keep his feet from getting too warm.

Sage Donnelly

Donnelly started kayaking solo at the mere age of 7. Ever since, she has been competing professionally in freestyle and slalom style races. Donnelly enjoys rock climbing, paddle boarding, and mountain skiing as well.

Donnelly prefers to fall asleep to a playlist of calming music; typically heading to bed at 10 or 11pm and waking at 6 or 7 the next morning. But don’t try to wake her once she has fallen asleep, it won’t happen; Donnelly sleeps like a rock. Not only does she stay asleep well, but Donnelly can fall asleep practically anywhere, simply give her her playlist and she’s good to go.

Brody Leven

Is a professional adventure skier and storyteller; he has biked across the US, and knows what it is like to run an ultramarathon.

Leven loves his sleep! He finds it easy to get anywhere from 8-10 hours of sleep at a time. The snooze time goal is about 10:30pm, but it frequently turns into 1:30am. Once he makes it to bed, Leven uses only about 2 inches of the mattress, preferring to sleep right on the edge. That is...when he’s on a bed; more often than not Leven is found sleeping in tents and sleeping bags.

Matt Moniz

Moniz is the youngest winner of the Adventurer of the Year Award. Moniz climbed the highest peaks in all 50 states in just 43 days to raise awareness and money for pulmonary arterial hypertension, a disease his best friend suffers from. Moniz and his father set the record together, and both of them would only sleep when they could while traveling by train or plane.

Laura Dekker

Dekker was the youngest circumnavigator; she sailed solo around the world from August 21, 2010 to January 21, 2012, a total of 518 days. Dekker would stop periodically, but would sleep only one hour at a time while sailing.

Roz Savage

Savage was the first female to have rowed solo across three oceans --the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian. During her Atlantic row, Savage rowed an average of 12 hours per day for 103 days straight. The Pacific row occurred in three stages, each stage covering 2,200 plus miles. The indian ocean was the longest single expedition taking a full 5 months of being alone at sea. Savage is now an author, speaker and coach.

While at sea, Savage aimed for getting 7 hours of sleep a night, though this was, at times, difficult with a rocking boat and weary eye alert for other ships. To make a good night’s rest even more tricky, the cabin of the boat got very hot. The cabin was a buoyancy chamber, which meant it could only be opened when waters were very calm, and only for a few moments to ensure no waves would capsize the boat while the chamber was open.

Savage also took siestas on hot days; she would lie out on the deck below a sun canopy, wedged between the runners of her rowing seat. This made for a great nap on the rare days the ocean was calm, but was a less than excellent snooze when the sea was constantly splashing her.

Anton Krupicka

Krupicka is a mountain runner with a passion for running, climbing, biking, and skiing the mountains. He is an ultra runner with records to boot; a two time winner of the Leadville 100 Champion, and a two-time winner of the USATF 50 mile Trail National Champion. He now combines his running skills with that of climbing to summit remote mountains.

During the summer months 9 or 10pm is shut eye time for Krupicka, seeing as somewhere in between 3:45-4:15 am (with the occasional 1:45 am alarm) is the average wake time to beat the heat and avoid afternoon thunderstorms during alpine climbs. With this early schedule, the occasional 60 minute afternoon nap is welcomed. Krupicka prefers to sleep outdoors, or at the very least, with the window open in order to enjoy the cool fresh air.